Screw-operated vise having wedge clutch



June 16, 1953 c. s. L. WERNE 2,641,947

SCREW-OPERATED VISE HAVING WEDGE CLUTCH Filed Jan. 15, 1950 I N VEN TOR.

CARL 5gp LENA/ART WERNE M /M ATTORNEYS Patented June 16, 1953 CLUTCHCarl Stig Lennart Werne, Gothenburg, Sweden Application January 13,1950, Serial No. 138,738

In Sweden JanuaryZ'Z, 1949 2 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to screw vises I of the type which areprovidedwith a fixed jaw, and a movable jaw slidable in guides to andfrom the fixed jaw. -fI'he object of the invention is to provide a viseof the kind referred to which is simple in con struction, easy to handleand efiicient in its action. i

The invention is broadly characterized in that between a slide slidablein guides and movable with the movable jaw, and a surface parallel tothe guides of the movable jaw, there is: inserted a wedge-shaped clutchmember the narrower end of which is directed towards the fixed jaw, andthat means are provided for forcing the movable jaw and said slidetowards or from each other. v V

In this vise the slidable jaw can be freely slid to contact a piece ofwork placed between the jaws, and by forcing the slidable jaw and theslide in a direction away from each other the clutch member prevents theslide from moving backwards, so'that the piece of work will be clamped.

An embodiment of the invention is by way of example shown in theaccompanying drawing,

wherein:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a vise constructed in accordance withthe invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof; and

Figure 3 is an end view showing the vise from the rear.

In the drawing l'denotes a base plate provided with holes 2 for screwbolts (not shown) for fastening the plate to a bench, upon which thevise is to be mounted. To the upper face of the base plate there aresecured, such as by welding, two parallel guide bars 3 and 4 of U-shaped cross-section which are spaced apart. To one end of said guidebars there is secured a cross piece I forming the fixed jaw of the vise.The other jaw 8 of the vise is secured to: one end of a left-handthreaded screw sleeve 9, which by means of an intermediate piece It] issecured to a slide ll slidable in and along the channels of the guidebars 3 and 4. On the side of the slide ll remote from the cross piece Ianother slide is slidable in and along the guide bars 3, 4, said otherslide comprising a right-hand threaded screw sleeve l2 coaxial with thesleeve 9, an intermediate piece l3 projecting down between the upperflanges 6 of the respective guide bars 3, 4 anda slide block [4, whichis embraced by said flanges and the bottom side of which is providedwith an inclined surface l5. Between .said surf ce-and the cha nel.suriace 16 forme b t l wer flan es '5 of th u de ars 3., V I.

there is inserted a wedge-shaped clutch member 11 having its narrowerend direct d a s the slide it and pr vid da t ur ace contest n sa dchannel surfa s W with a seri s of tran QliSB g oves. l8- T e c ut hmemb r I1 s aco ed y late spr n 0 ecur 'the l d block- 4 b m ans oscrews 19. and ad t o .keep the c utc member J pressed W1 a suitable frce tween the su face 15 o the li block i4 and the channel surfaces I6.In the space 2! between the screw sleeves 9 and I2 there is disposed themiddle portion of a screw spindle 23 having a suitable handle 22-. Theend portions 24, 25 of said screw are inserted respectively in thesleeves 9, I2, one of said end portions being right hand threaded, whilethe other is left hand threaded, so that by rotating the screw 23 bymeans of the handle 22 in one direction or the other the screw sleeves9, l2 and the elements connected to them can be forced towards or fromeach other.

The vise discribed acts in the following manner.

When a piece of work is to be clamped, the screw sleeves 9, l2 and theelements connected to said sleeves are slid en bloc towards the fixedjaw 1, the'clutch member I! permitting said sliding movement because,even under the influence of the spring 20, only a slight frictionalresistance is exerted thereby. The piece of work, in this way, ispreliminarily gripped between the jaws l, 8 whereupon by partiallyrotating the handle 22 and thus the screw 23 in a clockwise direction(according to Figure 3), the screw sleevesll, I2 are forced in thedirection away from each other. As the clutch member I1 prevents abackward movement of the screw-sleeve l2, the'jaw 8 is effectivelyforced in a direction towards the jaw i, so that the piece of work isfirmly gripped. When the piece of work is to be released it issufficient simply to: turn the spindle in the opposite direction. If thescrew sleeves are to be moved away from the fixed jaw I, the handle 22and with it the screw 23 is turned so far in an anticlock-wise direction(according to Figure 3) that the slide ll abuts against the narrower endof the clutch member I! and slides said member against the action of thespring 20, whereby the friction grip between the clutch member and theslide-surfaces l6 ceases, and the desired backward movement of the screwsleeves can be freely performed.

The present vise is capable of considerable 3 modification and suchchanges thereto as come within the scope of the appended claims isdeemed to be a part of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A screw vise comprising a base, a jaw fixedly mounted on said base,means forming guideways extending towards said fixed jaw and mounted onsaid base, a jaw carrying slide slidably mounted on said guideways, asecond slide slidably mounted on said guideways and having the sidethereof facing the bottom of said guideway slanting downwardly towardssaid first mentioned slide, a wedge providing a locking clutch for saidsecond slide being slidably positioned between said slanting bottom ofsaid second mentioned slide and the bottom of said guideway with thethin edge of said wedge extending from said secondslide towards saidfirst slide for being moved to an unclutching position upon contacttherewith, means for moving said slides in opposite directions at thesame time along said guideways, and resilient means tending to retainsaid wedge beneath said second slide.

2. A screw vise comprising a base, a jaw fixedly mounted on said base,means forming guideways extending towards said fixed jaw and mounted onsaid base, a jaw carrying slide slidably mounted on said guideways, asecond slide slidably mounted on said guideways and having the sidethereof facing the bottom of said guideway slanting downwardly towardssaid first mentioned slide, a wedge providing a retaining clutch forsaid second slide being slidably positioned between said slanting bottomof said second slide and the bottom of said guideway with the thin edgeof said wedge extending from said second slide towards said first slideand said fixed jaw whereby movement of said second slide from said fixedjaw causes said wedge to retain said second slide in position andmovement of said slides towards one another causes said first slide tomove said wedge to an unclutched position relative to said second slide,means for moving said slides in opposite directions along said guidewaysat the same time, and a resilient finger mounted on said second slideand contacting the thick edge of said wedge for tending to move saidwedge with said second slide during its movement towards said CARL STIGLENNART WERNE.

References Cited in the file-of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 575,686 Brockett Jan. 26, 1897 1,134,347 Peterson Apr. 6, 19151,183,733 Hulthin May 16, 1916 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country 7 Date318,816 Great Britain Sept. 12, 1929

